Ink-well.



I-.- I IJ. BRISTOL. INK WELL.' APPLICATION rILI 'Nov.9.IIII1.

fyi.

A TTRNEYS Patented sepns', 1918.

J ISAAC k'.DIEIVOE BRISTOL, 0F CHAPPAQUA, NEW YORK.

INK-WELL.

Specification of Letters Patent. o Patented Sept, 3, 1918,

`Applicationfiled November 9, 1917. Serial No. 201,105.A

To all 'whom t may concern: j l n Be it known that I, Jol-1N I. D. .Bms'ron a citizen of the United States, and a resident ofl Chappaqua, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Ink-l/Vell, of which ithe following is a full, clear, and exact description. j

rl`his invention relates toI ink wells or. analogous containers for fluidand has particular reference to a holder that is adapted to retain the ink in a perfectly clean, sanitary, :and iiuid condition for an indefinite length of time without special attention on.

the part of the operator. n

More definitely stated, among thek objects in view of this invention is the provision of an ink well comprising a main base constituting a reservoir for the ink into which a itubular stem projects from a plunger or top, said top having a downwardly projecting outer iange spaced laterallyfrom the tube and an intermediate downwardly proj ecting flange projecting below the edge ofthe rst mentioned iiange andinto a sealing fluid contained in an annular cistern in the upper*V pontion of the'base structure, the rim por` tions of the walls of the cistern being peculiarly formed so as toprevent any possibility of the splashing wor spilling of thel sealing Huid.. f A l v With the foregoing and other objects in l view the inventlon consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the`inven tionis not restricted to. the exact details of.

construction disclosed or suggested herein,

i still for the purpose of illustrating aprac-V tical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in'whichj Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of one form of my improved inkiwell, the sectionjg enlargements at kthe upperk end ofthe cis-V being on the lines 1-1 of Figs. 2 :and 4.

Fig. Q is a pl'ankview of the same. Y Fig. 3 is a ver-tical sectional view of a modified construction, Ithe plane being simi-vv lar tothat of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 isa horizontal the line 4.-'-4 of Fig. 1. n In carrying out my tical and -eflicient form or embodiment of means, I provide a base 10 of any suitableL construction or design and serving to constitute, a reservoir for a large quantityk of invention in a prac-y ink 11 or other fluid adapted t-O be dispensed `in small quantities.

kvenience I will refer hereinaftersimply toY ink asythe fluid contained inthe reservoir.

For the sake of con- The base struct-ure comprises. a neck 12 which may be integral with the main portion of the base as indicated in Fig. l, or which may be made as a separate part 12 and cemented' or otherwise secured to the main .portion of the base as indicated in Fig. 3, the securing means being indicated at 13.` The securing means may be a ring or layer of cement, or it may be rubber or some other means whereby the neck may be detached with convenience at any time. Except as just indicated the two structures shown in Figsfl and 3 are substantially alike. v

The neck' portion of thev base' is shown provided with a smooth, vertical, central hole 14 of uniform cross section and indicated in this instance as of cylindrical form.. Y

Spaced outwardly from the cylindrical hole 14 is an annular open topped cistern v15 con .centricy with the' hole 14 and adapted to kcontain a suitable quantity `ofsealing fluid 16, such asv mercury. Again, spaced out- .wardlyY from the cistern 15 the uppery outer portion ofthe neck structure is provided with a smooth, cylindrical w-all 17 lconcentri-c with the other features just described.

This .Wallis bounded at its-lower 'end byV means of an outwardly projecting bead 18.

The upper edge or endl of the wall 17 and the upper end or edge of the wall 12a, constituting that portion of the neck structure between thecistern 15-and the central hole A 14, terminate on the* same level or lie inthe same horizontal plane. Special attention is n-ow "called to the upper end portionsof the wall structures 17 and 12a. The outer wall structure is rabbeted at 19 at its upper Vin- (ner edge, and .the inner wall structure '12a is similarly rabbeted at 20 on its outer upper edge. These rabbets may be regarded as tern` 15 and hence 'constitute' pockets into which the sealing fluid 16 may splash or the outside or the inside of the reservoir in the practice of the invention.V Since the vtendency kof the sealing fluid is greater to ,y splash or iiow outwardly than itis to flow inwardly the outer pocket 19 is preferably wider .than the other and hence has a greater capacity. j 1j The readers attention is now called to the plunger or 4top structure indicated as a whole at 21. The plunger comprises a central tube or stem 22 having a relatively snia-ll central bore 23. Said stein' in general is of cylindrical form and is tted closely, but

with an easy sliding fit, within the hole 14 of the neck. In practice I'vmake this stem'V as large as possible and yet insure free sliding movement. Hence the stem may be regarded as a centering device for the Ventire Y top or plunger structure-serving to hold the top from all lateral movement or tilting with respect to the base and neck portions. It is essential, however, in the practicaloperation of the device that air be free to pass up and down along the stem. To vthis end I provide one or more grooves2el rextendingy along the outer surface of that portion of the stem that coperates withtlie wall 12a.

y Thisinsures free movement for the air without interfering ywith the otherwise relatively close fit between the stem and neck portions.

T he ribs 24C', between which the grooves 24C are formed, are Athe parts of the stem that engage said lwall 12a, and they extend down normally within the ink reservoir, the lower end of the stem having a smooth cylindrical surface. i y

The centratbore 23 of the plunger is l preferably flared at both its upper and its lower ends as indicated at 25 and 2G respectively. The iiare of this member provides a sort vof 4funnel at'25 adapted to receive a small quantity of ink that is delivered up y through :the bore 23 and lower funnel 26 f wardly far below thelower edge of the from the body ofink 11.

The top or plunger is provided with a downwardly projecting flange or skirt 27 40 flange 27 and into the sealing Huid 16 inthe cistern 15. The flange 28 will thus be seen toproject in effect down between jthe two l pockets 19 and'20, but is spaced from the walls of said pockets and the concentric walls'of the cistern so that there is `no contact between the lflange 28 and any part of the neck structure. The ange v28 ymay be regarded'as projecting downwardly from a `flat ceiling portion'29 consisting of two annular parts both lying in the same plane between-the flange 27 and the stem 22. 'It will thus be seen that when the plunger is. de-

pressed in the practice of the invention the flat ceiling portion 29 just referred to will strike vsquarely and flatly against the upper ends or edges of the wall structures 17 and 12aalso 'lying in the same plane. Hence the ceiling 29 may be regarded as a positive` poses this closure efl'ect is important during the use of the invention in the normal way at each depression of the plunger under contact of the pen. However, if the plunger be Iheld down by any suitable means against the upper ends of the wall structures 17 and 12CL andthe bore 23 be plugged as by means of a match stick or the like, the ink as well as the sealing fluid will both be positniely held from leakage even though the ink well asa whole may be transported in any position. I am aware that `ink wells of the general ltype of the one set forth herein are not new, but I believe it is new with ine to provide the peculiar means set forth for accommodating the flow of the sealing fluid and 'theprevention of loss or escape of suoli iiuid as well as the ink. 'For the above purpose of transportation the ink lying in the funnel'25will be removed prior to the plugging of the bore 23.

Fromthe foregoing specific description of the construction, its manner of operation may be brieiiy set forth as follows: With the base filled with ink to any desired level which may be done at any time by simply withdrawing the plunger from the hole 14, the .plunger will then be introduced with the lower end of the stem projecting into the ink. Vhile the stem is being introduced into vthe ink the level in the bore 23, but for a slight capillary action, will remain the same asthat of the main body of ink until the lower free'edge of the flange 28 enters Vthe sealing fluid 16. VThis flange and the sealing iiuid atthis moment constitute with the other parts of thestructure an air trap, the air trapped within the flange 28 and in the upper portion-ofthe Vbase being then put under compression, the measure of which is the weight of the plunger. yIn other words the air cushion :formed within the fiange 28 and supported on the outsideby the sealing fluid serves to buoy the plunger so as to maintain normally a space between the ceiling 29 and the upper edges of the wall structures as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The normal level o'f the ink, therefore, in the bore 23 is somewhere and approximately midway between the main level of the ink in the base and the funnel y25, but far enough below the funnel so that there is no tendency for 'the ink to dry or harden at its only exposed surface. 'IVhem however, a pen is projected into the funnel 25 and a slight pressure is applied thereto the plunger is forced downwardlyuntil it is stopped bythe neck structure. yThe cushionv of air within the flange 28 and the upper portion of the base -will thus be 'put under greater compression due to the yreduction in volume of the air at the pocket 20, as well as within the base due to the larger volume of the stem entering the main quantity of ink, and sol av suflicient the pen. The moment, however, that the t pen has been lled and removed from theY funnel the plunger is buoyed up again to practically its normal position and the surplus ink left in the funnel Hows back into or toward the main body of ink 11.

I claim:

1. In an ink well'L of the character set forth, the combination of ahase constituting a reservoir for ink and having a neck structure, said neck structure having'a vertical hole and being provided with an annular open topped cistern surrounding and concenf tric with said hole, the walls bounding said cistern being rabbeted lforming inner and outer concentric annular pockets constitut-k ing enlargements of the cistern, a sealing Y Huid contained in said cistern, and a plunger coperating with the neck structure and characterized as follows: said plunger having a stem fitted closely in but slidable through said neckl hole and provided with one or more air .grooves for the free How of air along the stem, said stem having a bore from one end to the other and said plunger being furthermore provided with `a flange spacedy outwardly from and concentric with said stem and dipping into the sealing fluid in the cistern, the ceiling portion of the plungeron opposite sides ofthe fiange just mentioned being adapted to abut squarely against the upper edges of the 'walls bounding said cistern pockets when the plunger is depressed.

2. In an ink well of the character set 40 forth, the combination with a base, a neck portion therefor, said neck portion having Y a central vertical hole and an annular cistern surrounding saidl hole, the upper edgesk of the walls bounding said cistern terminatingV in exactly the same'horizontal planey and being rabbeted forming enlargements or pockets for the upper portion of the cistern, the outer pocket`V being larger ,than the, inner pocket, a sealing Huid contained within the cistern and a plunger having a Hat ceiling portion adapted to coincide with the plane of the upper edges of said cistern walls when depressed, an annular flange projecting downwardly from said ceiling por-- tion into the cistern 'and spaced fromthe wallsthercof, and a tubularstem projecting from the plunger through the neck structure toward theA bottom ofthe base,

, substantially as set forth. i

JOHN ISAAC nnvon BeisToL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byv addressing the Commissioner of Patenti.'

Washington, D. C. f 

